Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Gutzke.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve loved music more than just about anything, for as long as I can remember. It’s been my therapy, through the good and the bad. An outlet for emotions and a safe place to land. I’ve always had a way of finding lyrics that I can not only relate to, but that feel like they came straight from my soul. Music has been the biggest influence of my life. Unfortunately, I have no musical talent. I cannot sing, play an instrument or write a song. Therefore, there was no musical future for me.
I went to college with the goal of becoming a criminal prosecutor. By the end of junior year, I decided I should probably get my business minor and think about other career options. After graduating, I bounced around from bartending jobs, promotional modeling, and marketing gigs until I finally found myself working a more full-time office job. From there I got into account management, recruiting, sales, marketing, and business development. After a couple of years of successful career growth, I realized I was working a daily job that I didn’t enjoy, with people I couldn’t stand. Around this time I had a few inspirational conversations with musicians I know. They helped me realize that I did have a way to be involved in the music industry and that was through business. Knowledge and experience I had been gaining for years.
Shortly after these conversations, I started helping upcoming artists grow their social media presence, whether that be through Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. About a month later I came up with the name Trig44 Entertainment, designed a logo and had some hats embroidered. With the help of friends and artists, the brand started to grow and people were recognizing the name. Within less than two months, I was doing it full-time.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The interactions I’ve had with artists, managers, and venues has been great. A lot of people have offered great free advice and a helping hand along the way. One of the biggest struggles has been finances, which I think most new companies deal with. There are constant expenses (many you don’t think of) and not enough hours in the day. You quickly will find you have to pay to play. I’ve found the best way to tackle the financial obstacle, is to prioritize and take on one project at a time. I wasn’t able to pay for all my licenses, domains, website, merchandise, and so forth all at once. I had to pay for things as I could afford them, in order of most importance.
Please tell us about Trig44 Entertainment.
Trig44 Entertainment was originally created to help bridge the gap between the Pacific Northwest and Texas music. I wanted to help bring artists on tour from the south to the PNW and vice versa. That idea quickly evolved into something more. Today, our purpose is to help new and upcoming artists make a name for themselves. We do that through offering social media marketing (content and growth), booking, management, event production and philanthropy (concert benefits, charities). We also collaborate with other partners that will help with websites, graphic design, and photography. Trig44 operates on the motto “Teamwork Makes The Dream Work”.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was about six years old, my dad and aunt took me and my cousin to see Billy Ray Cyrus at the Oregon State Fair. I was a HUGE fan of the song “Achy Breaky Heart”. I had my little cowgirl outfit on and my dad let me stand up on his shoulders for hours through most of the concert. It was my first live music experience, changing me forever. Since then I’ve been to well over a thousand shows.
Contact Info:
- Website: trig44ent.com
- Email: amy@trig44.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trig44entertainment/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trig44/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/trig44
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-gakX45NgVJ4qnnp5S5qKw?view_as=subscriber
Image Credit:
Matthew Youngquest, Amy Gutzke, Hunter Weyand, Gary Peterson
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